NEW DELHI: Since 2003, a procession of billionaires has been descending on the biennial Vibrant Gujarat Summit, the showpiece investment meeting of Chief Minister NarendraModi that culminates into dizzy pledges to do business and lavish praise for his pro-business work.

The massive hype around the event, which Modi has used frequently as a plank in the approaching elections in the state, is thanks largely to a Washington lobby called Apco Worldwide.

Until Apco, which also doubles in public relations, appeared on the scene in 2009 to sell the event, Vibrant Gujarat was a modest show. At the first three events, investment promises were worth no more than $14 billion, $20 billion and $152 billion. Enter Apco and in 2009 and 2011, the promises grew to $253 billion and $450 billion.

Vibrant Gujarat's evolution into the country's premier investment meet - it is billed the "Indian Davos" - and its attraction for trade groups, investors, bureaucrats and politicians across the globe would only surprise people unfamiliar with 28-year-old Apco's striking resume.

Paul Holmes, editor-in-chief of the Holmes Report, says he ranks Apco as one of the two or three largest and best-known public affairs (lobbying) firms in the United States.

To date, Apco has served clients as high profile as investment powerhouse JPMorgan Chase and as controversial as President Nursultan Nazarbayev of Kazakhstan.

On paper, Apco works for the Industrial Extension Bureau (iNDEXTb), the Gujarat government's nodal agency for investments. But for all purposes, it is identified as the public relations manager of Narendra Modi. Vibrant Gujarat isn't really an iNDEXTb event - it is Modi's grandest show.

Foreign Scribes Reach Modi Via Apco

Margery Kraus, founder and CEO, Apco Worldwide, insists that the company's mandate is limited to positioning Gujarat as an investment destination of choice. Kraus' use of 'limited' is deliberate because she and other Apco executives appear to be not thrilled with the association with Modi. "We do not work for Chief Minister Modi, and we do not speak for him," she says.

That is not entirely true. In an article published by The New York Times on February 8, 2011, an Apco executive named Steven King responded on behalf of Modi about the "lingering controversies" in Gujarat, a reference to the riots of 2002 and the aftermath. Journalists of foreign newspapers that ET spoke to say it is Apco that they approach with requests to interview Modi.

The Gujarat government apart, Apco also serves companies such as Dow Corning, Walt Disney, MasterCard, Cairn and Facebook in India. Much of Apco's success in lobbying and public relations is the handiwork of its International Advisory Council, packed with politicians and bureaucrats such as former Indian diplomat, Lalit Mansingh, and former US ambassador to India, Tim Roemer.

"For example, if the Gujarat government has to approach Israel to sell the Vibrant Gujarat summit, Apco provides the access," says a person familiar with Apco's work. "That's where people like Roemer or Mansingh come in. They open doors through their vast network."

Next year's edition of Vibrant Gujarat in January 11-13, 2013, is billed as the biggest yet. The US-India Business Council, whose head Ron Somers told ET previously that Modi has a tireless, indefatigable commitment to build infrastructure, is sponsoring the summit.

More importantly, acceptance from foreign governments that has eluded Modi due to the riots — which he believes will help erase that past — is in the works. Gujarat goes to the polls on December 13 and 17 and as if on cue, the US and Britain are cosying up to Modi. For the controversial chief minister, who is said to be gunning for the prime minister's job, it all seems to be coming together. As for Apco, it is happy to take a bow for only the success of Vibrant Gujarat.